The present invention relates to a method of providing services for customers and users, and in particular, to a service processing system for use with a traffic facility such as a railway transportation or facility in which a point service is carried out in accordance with a state of utilization of each user.
Heretofore, there has been known a customer service called xe2x80x9cpoint servicexe2x80x9d, in which points are assigned to each customer in accordance with such transaction data as an amount of transaction, in transaction processing in a shop or a store, such that when the accumulated number of points of the customer becomes equal to a predetermined number of points (target number of points), an article or a merchandise coupon is given to the customer. JP-A-5-324998, JP-A-6-266970, JP-A-7-65243, etc. describe technologies related to the point service of this kind.
In these service processing systems above, service points are calculated in accordance with the utilization state of each customer by a host system or a high-order system of a point of sales (POS) system or the like, and the calculated result is recorded in an IC card issued to the customer in advance. Moreover, when changing a rate of addition of service points for each customer, the host system or the high-order system refers to data of the rate of addition beforehand stored for the customer so as to appropriately calculate the service points in accordance with the rate.
In accordance with the prior art, the service points are calculated by the host system or the high-order system such as the POS system. Consequently, the service points are fixedly set to a table arranged in the high-order system. When it is desired to provide more precise satisfactory services, for example, when the service points are to be changed in accordance with the utilization state of each customer, it is required for the host system to manage the utilization state of each customer in a concentrated fashion for the calculation of service points in accordance with the utilization state. In consequence, it is necessary for the host system to execute transaction processing for any transaction, which leads to a problem that the load imposed on the host system becomes heavier and hence the processing response time is elongated. On the other hand, in a case in which such a point service is to be introduced to a passenger traffic facility such as a railway transportation, there may be executed processing to calculate points when a passenger enters or leaves a platform of a station through an automatic ticket inspection machine installed at a wicket of the station. Since a high processing speed is required in this case, the conventional technology described above cannot be applied to the system.
It is therefore an object of the present invention, which is devised to solve the problems of the prior art, to supply each customer with service points in a more precise manner in accordance with the utilization state of the customer, and to supply service points to the customer with a high degree of freedom in various fashions in accordance with information of the customer.
To achieve the object above, there is provided a service processing system in accordance with the present invention including an IC card possessed by a user or passenger, and an automatic ticket inspection machine arranged in each station of the pertinent transportation facility. The IC card includes storage means for keeping therein a stored value supplied as an equivalent for utilization of a service and service points supplied in association with a service utilization state, and interface means for conducting data communication with an external device. The automatic ticket inspection machine includes a reader/writer for accomplishing data communication with the IC card, means for transferring, when the passenger enters a platform of a station through the machine to access the transportation facility, entrance information related to the starting station to the IC card, and means for receiving, when the passenger leaves a platform of a station through the machine, the entrance information from the IC card, creating exit information representing a utilization state of the facility in accordance with the entrance information, and transferring the exit information to the IC card. Additionally, the IC card includes means for receiving and keeping therein the entrance information, and means for calculating service points in accordance with a utilization state associated with the received exit information.